Power Rangers: Time War
by Shadowblade217
Summary: When an old enemy returns, Andros recruits his old teammates and the S.P.D. Rangers for a mission to bring down the last remnant of the Machine Empire. But when an unexpected enemy strategy threatens to alter the course of history, the team must gather Rangers past and present in an attempt to prevent the total destruction of humanity.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.**

_**Power Rangers: Time War**_

**Chapter 1: Shadows of the Past**

_The Moon, 2002_

The fires were still burning, a remarkable feat considering the lack of an atmosphere. Gases venting from broken fuel lines, however, were sufficient to keep the flames going.

The massive shape lay broken on the surface of the Moon, its structure warped and distorted by the chain of internal explosions that had torn it apart. Its main reactor had already shut down, and the light in its eyes had faded.

Serpenterra, one of the most powerful Zords ever to exist, had been destroyed.

This powerful war machine had been resurrected as part of a failed plot to destroy the planet Earth. The masterminds behind the plan had been the last surviving forces of the evil Machine Empire, a once-powerful force that had been wiped out due to the actions of the Power Rangers. The empire's leader, King Mondo, had been destroyed years earlier, but one of his surviving generals had rallied the remaining troops under his command, determined to exact vengeance upon the human race. Yet he too had failed, defeated, once again, by the Rangers.

Now, the general's plan lay in ashes. He had originally wanted to utilize Serpenterra to rain down chaos and fire on the planet, only to have his remaining forces decimated, his minions defeated, and Serpenterra itself brought down by a single Ranger.

The general's enemies had assumed that he had perished along with his Zord, and they had returned triumphantly to Earth.

They, however, had been mistaken.

.

Amid the burning ruin of Serpenterra, the sand of the lunar surface suddenly stirred.

A hand emerged from the sand, metal fingers digging into the ground. Next came an arm, and then a head: finally, a complete humanoid figure emerged from beneath the sand.

The figure was tall, and clearly mechanical in nature. Sparks crackled from various points on his body, along with the occasional flash of electricity from damaged circuitry. Most of his black-and-gold armor had been shattered and torn away, revealing the internal components beneath, and the cover shielding the red power core in his chest was cracked. One of the two antennae atop his head had been snapped off. His left arm ended in a shattered stump, loose wires hanging out. His left leg was also damaged, and he limped as he staggered away from the wreckage.

General Venjix looked around, attempting to recover his bearings. The last thing he remembered was one of the Rangers flying their combat vehicle straight into the mouth of Serpenterra, causing its mouth beam to backfire and overloading the main reactor of the Zord. Then there had been a blinding flash of light, and everything went black, until his systems had finished rebooting a few minutes ago.

Venjix's highly advanced internal processors immediately went to work, analyzing the damage he had sustained.

_Damage report: 53%_, his processors informed him.

All things considered, he really couldn't complain. At least his CPU and core systems were still intact.

There was no denying it, however: once again, he had failed. His mission to avenge the fall of the Machine Empire had been a dismal failure: the Rangers had massacred his last remaining forces, and his final trump card, Serpenterra, had been lost.

But even now, General Venjix refused to admit defeat. He had always been determined: despite the damage and losses he had suffered, he was still defiant. His forces might have been defeated again, but he had survived.

Limping across the barren lunar surface, Venjix started walking away from the wrecked Zord, heading back towards his base. With every step, his digital processors were working, his artificial mind filled with a constant stream of strategies and plans.

They would pay for what they had done to him, and to the Machine Empire. The entire human race would be wiped from existence for this, perishing in flames. And Venjix would walk over their bodies to reestablish the glory of his fallen empire.

He looked forward to each and every one of their deaths.

Especially the Power Rangers.

.

_New Tech City, Earth, 2026_

_Space Patrol Delta Headquarters_

Commander Anubis "Doggie" Cruger sat in his command chair, contemplating recent events. It had been almost a year since the defeat of the Troobian invasion of Earth and the imprisonment of Emperor Gruumm, and Earth had returned to peace. With the help of the current S.P.D. team of Power Rangers, Cruger had continued to maintain the peace in New Tech City. Most of the alien criminals who had been working for Gruumm had been captured, and the Rangers were in the process of rounding up those that remained.

Abruptly, alarms blared throughout the Command Center. Cruger frowned, standing and turning to the door just as Dr. Kat Manx walked into the room.

"Kat, what's going on?" he inquired.

"We just received a transmission from SPD Command," Kat replied, holding up a holographic datapad. "There's a command shuttle inbound, carrying an Alpha-level passenger."

"Alpha-level?" Cruger's eyes widened. "The last time we had an Alpha-level official visit here was when Commander Birdie stopped by for an inspection."

"Correct." Kat frowned. "Only this time, the shuttle's from our base on… KO-35, I believe."

"Interesting." Cruger considered. "I'll go down and greet them in person. Call the Rangers."

"Understood." Kat smiled, punching in a command on her datapad and accessing the PA system for the Delta Base. "All Cadets to the main hangar bay immediately."

.

Cruger strode into the hangar bay, to see at least a hundred black-clad cadets lined up in neat rows. At the front, the four remaining B-Squad Power Rangers – Sky Tate, Bridge Carson, Elizabeth "Z" Delgado, and Sydney Drew – stood together, waiting as they watched the shuttle descend onto the landing pad.

As Cruger and Kat took up their positions at the front of the crowd, the shuttle touched down. After a few seconds, there was a hiss, and the main doors opened.

To Cruger's surprise, none other than Supreme Commander Fowler Birdie exited the shuttle, making his way down the boarding ramp. "Ah, Commander Cruger," he said in greeting. "A pleasure to see you again."

"You as well, sir," Cruger replied, somewhat stiffly. "Ah… we didn't know you were coming."

"Well, in truth, I'm not the one who scheduled this meeting," Birdy replied. "My counterpart did that."

"Your…" Cruger was confused momentarily. "Your counterpart?"

"Indeed." Birdie glanced back towards the shuttle. "I'm not the one who scheduled this visit to Earth: I'm just along for the ride, I suppose." He raised a hand, pointing to the craft. "_He's_ the one who organized this."

Cruger looked back up at the shuttle, just as another man walked out of the exit doors.

He appeared to be human, in his mid-to-late forties. He wore a red-and-tan S.P.D. uniform, with a silver insignia on his shoulder that marked him as a Supreme Commander. He was pale, with bright blue eyes and a professional bearing. His shoulder-length hair was blonde, with light-brown streaks.

Cruger recognized him immediately, of course: few people at S.P.D. could forget that face.

"I don't believe it…" he murmured under his breath.

The man glanced up, smiling when his gaze fell on Cruger. He walked up to face them, standing beside Birdie, and saluted them.

"Commander Cruger," he introduced himself, in a surprisingly soft voice. "It's an honor to meet you. Nice job with the Troobians, if I may say so."

"Ah… thank you, sir," Cruger replied.

Noticing that the Rangers and some of the Cadets seemed confused, Birdie stepped forward. "Ladies and gentlemen," he announced,"allow me to introduce Supreme Commander Andros, commanding officer of the S.P.D. Alpha base on KO-35."

Immediately, clarity broke on the faces of almost everyone in the audience, and muffled whispers filled the room. Even if they had never seen his face, the name _Andros_ was instantly recognizable for the reputation that came with it.

Bridge and Syd were clearly startled by the revelation of the new arrival's identity, but maintained their composure. Sky, meanwhile, was gazing at the visitor with an awestruck expression on his face.

Z, however, seemed confused. "Sorry, who is that guy?" she whispered to Syd.

"You don't know who that is?" Sky murmured incredulously under his breath. "He's a Power Ranger legend! He was one of the founders of S.P.D., and he led their first team of Power Rangers."

Andros smiled, walking forward to stand before them. "Pleasure to meet you, Rangers," he greeted them in a friendly manner. "The entire galaxy owes you a debt of gratitude for bringing an end to the Troobians' rampage."

"_Thank you, sir!_" the Rangers chorused in unison.

Andros sighed. "Oh, relax. At ease." When they visibly relaxed, he grinned. "I'm not really the type of person to stand on ceremony."

"Ah, thank you, sir," Sky replied, his expression nervous. "It's an honor to have you here."

Nodding politely, Andros turned back to Cruger. "In all honesty, Commander, I am very grateful to all of you. The Earth means a great deal to me, and I would do anything to defend it, so I am in debt to you and your Rangers for protecting this world from Gruumm."

"Well, if the Earth means so much to you, why didn't you come and help us defend it?" Z spoke up. She immediately flinched as Cruger, Sky and Birdie simultaneously glared daggers at her.

"Show some respect, Ranger!" Birdie snapped. "You will not address a Supreme Commander in such a manner!"

Andros smiled understandingly. "It's perfectly all right, Commander Birdie." He folded his hands in front of him. "To answer your question, I couldn't come to Earth's defense because my team and I were pressing the war against the Troobians elsewhere. Earth wasn't the only battleground, although it was the most important one: but Gruumm devoted so many of his forces to the task of taking Earth that he stopped paying attention to the rest of his empire. With him distracted, my allies and I took the opportunity to open our own front, picking off the rest of the Troobian Empire's conquered worlds one by one." He grinned, a hint of amusement entering his attitude. "Believe me, I wanted nothing more than to protect the Earth. That's why I sent Commander Birdie here back to Earth, along with an elite strike team from S.P.D. headquarters, to help you during the final battle."

"That was you?" Z's eyes widened.

"Indeed." Andros nodded. "But I give full credit to you for your victory against Gruumm and Omni. You are all a credit to S.P.D., and we all owe you thanks." He saluted them.

Sky was still awestruck, but he promptly returned the salute, as did the other three Rangers.

"I am curious about something," Bridge spoke up. He turned to Cruger. "Uh, sir… you told us that the first S.P.D. was assembled when Gruumm attacked Sirius, but you never mentioned that hewas involved. I didn't think you were Rangers."

"We weren't," Cruger explained. "The first S.P.D. was established to defend Sirius against the Troobians. We were defeated, but Commander Andros heard the news and saw its merit."

"As a Ranger," Andros added, "I understood better than most people that a small, close-knit force of elite fighters can be more effective than an entire army. Every team of Power Rangers over the years has proven that. After hearing that Sirius had fallen, I went to work on a solution to prevent that from happening again. So I recruited Commanders Birdie and Cruger here, along with a few others, to form an interplanetary version of the fighting force that Cruger had led on Sirius. But I knew that we would need more firepower, and what better way to do that than by having these teams be made up of Power Rangers?" He shrugged. "And you probably know the rest."

Bridge smiled. "Interesting."

"Indeed." Andros, seemingly distracted, turned to face Cruger. "Now, Commander Cruger, if you'd be so kind, I'd like to have a word with you and your Rangers, in private."

Cruger nodded. "Of course." He turned to face the rows of cadets. "Cadets, dismissed!" he called. "Go about your duties."

"_Yes, sir!_" the cadets chorused, and the crowd scattered.

"This way, sir," Kat said in a friendly tone, leading the way towards the Command Center and beckoning for Andros and the Rangers to follow.

Andros smiled, walking after her. "Thank you."

.

"So, what brings you to Earth, sir?" Sky inquired, as Andros, Cruger, Birdie, Kat and the Rangers made their way down the corridor towards the Command Center.

"Well, as much as I'd like to say that this was a social visit, unfortunately, it's not," Andros informed them. He sighed. "Gruumm may be gone, but there are always threats out there… and, as it turns out, a new one has already surfaced."

As Cruger led the way into the command center, Andros motioned to the central display. "May I?" he asked Kat.

She nodded. "Of course, sir."

Nodding, Andros moved to the control panel, pressing a few keys as he removed a small flash drive from his pocket and inserted it into the terminal. A moment later, a holographic projection appeared on the usual screen: an image of a large military space station, orbiting a populated planet.

"This is the S.P.D. Gamma base, orbiting the planet Onix," Andros explained. "About a week ago, it was attacked by an unknown enemy fleet." He pressed a button, and the image was replaced by a video of the same station under attack. At least a dozen ships, roughly disc-shaped with numerous projections extending from their sides, were circling the station, firing on it with a barrage of missiles and energy blasts. The station's defenses were returning fire, but they were clearly outmatched.

"The orbiting station was crippled, and the attackers would definitely have moved on to attack the planet itself if reinforcements from S.P.D. hadn't arrived in time to drive them off." Andros paused the video on a shot clearly showing several of the enemy ships. "Now, my question is: do any of you happen to recognize the design of those ships?"

The Rangers, Kat and Cruger frowned in puzzlement as they examined the image.

Sky was the first to realize it: his eyes suddenly widened, and he looked up at Andros with a startled expression on his face. "That's impossible," he said.

Andros nodded grimly. "That's what I thought too. But there's no mistake: the design is identical."

"So… who are they?" Bridge asked curiously.

Andros remained silent for the moment, gazing contemplatively at the image on the screen. Finally, he spoke. "Are any of you familiar with an organization known as the Machine Empire?"

.

_AN: Hello, everyone, and welcome to my newest story, __**Power Rangers: Time War**__! I'm going to try to incorporate as many teams of Power Rangers as possible into this narrative: the only ones I definitely won't be including are __**Jungle Fury**__, __**Samurai**__ and __**Megaforce**__, just because there's no way I could fit those into the storyline that I have planned. This should be a majorly epic story once I can get it finished, so stay tuned!_

_As always, if you have any questions or comments regarding this chapter or the story as a whole, please review! (No hate, please: that's not fun for anyone)._

_See you all next time!_


End file.
